By Amanda Bennett
We started talking about some of our financial choices and decisions as a family, so that the children could listen to our reasoning and how we arrived at our conclusions. The children learn from us all of the time, whether we are discussing the science of gravity or the concept of earning interest or investing wisely – we are their models, in both our actions, words, and thought processes. From the simple ideas of saving money for something that they would like to purchase and the importance of comparison shopping, to the complexities of the time-value of money and understanding how to make money work for you, we have a tremendous opportunity as homeschooling families, to provide our children with a sound financial education.
To get them started on the road to financial wisdom and hands-on learning, consider some of the following steps for each child when they are old enough to handle the responsibility:
Checking account - joint, in both the child’s name and one parent’s name
Savings account – joint, in both the child’s name and one parent’s name
Give them a gift of a share of stock to help them begin to learn to read the financial page, interpret the columns of data, and have some fun in the process, watching their stock change in value. Our favorite stock to give them has been a share of Wrigley Company stock (Wrigley Gum manufacturers!) Not only has it been a good investment financially, it is a company with familiar products. As an added dividend, the company sends each shareholder a gift box of Wrigley product(s) at Christmas time each year!
US Savings Bonds – which can be purchased at your local bank. They can begin to see how money has a time-value, watching the date of maturity on the bonds, and developing an understanding of saving for the long term.
These steps also provide the opportunity to teach your child how to develop goals – saving for next month’s museum visit versus saving for a college education or capital to start their own business. After helping them develop some short term and long term goals, you can sit down and help them devise a plan to meet these goals. Between allowance, earning money by helping others, or perhaps a part-time job, they can begin to realize their goals and appreciate the value of work and accomplishment. There is a helpful website that calculates how to reach certain goals at:
Reach Your Goals by Saving!
We have an older game, called “Stock Market” that we play together as a family. There are many types of games like this available now, teaching the idea of money, finance, risk and wise decisions, all in a game format that the whole family can play together. The two newest on the market are based on Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad, and they are called Cash Flow for Kids and Cash Flow 101. They provide an excellent way to learn the very important basics of sound money management and learn key principles of business. His books and games also encourage education for entrepreneurship, which I also strongly encourage!
When I began writing unit studies for publication, the children were very interested in the publishing process and how the business worked. As they grew older, they would occasionally accompany me to speaking engagements. There, they would help with setting up the tables, selling books, and learning to have fun while working.
Growing up in a homeschooling household also gave our children the opportunity to see just what treasures books can be! They joined in on shopping for special books at garage sales and library sales, and what an education they received from these outings. One of our children developed her own used book business, offering the books for sale on her self-made web page! She experienced success at this business, and learned how to create web pages as part of the process. She then went on to build her own small business developing web pages, and still has this income resource when she finds free time while attending veterinary college.
Blessings,
Amanda Bennett
www.unitstudy.com
